Detective indicted on DWI charge

Detective indicted on DWI charge
The Albany Times Union by CAROL DeMARE - March 26, 2009, Staff writer

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Veteran police detective George McNally has been indicted on drunken-driving and reckless-driving charges stemming from a January incident in which he allegedly was involved in an off-duty hit-and-run accident. McNally, 54, who is on paid suspension, was arrested the night of Jan. 11 at his Delmar home by detectives with the department's Office of Professional Standards. McNally allegedly refused to take an alcohol breath test. District Attorney David Soares took the case to a grand jury, which handed up a five-count indictment on Tuesday, district attorney spokeswoman Heather Orth said. The detective, who has 28 years on the job, is charged with three misdemeanors. Lesser charges, such as misdemeanors, are typically handled in City Court. However, cases that are presented to a grand jury go to County Court.

Albany attorney Stephen Coffey said Wednesday his client "was not drunk ... was not intoxicated." "It was an unfortunate incident," Coffey said. "There've been miscues in the investigation of this case from the very beginning and assumptions and impressions that people have made that are unwarranted. And we intend to vigorously contest the charges." The misdemeanor DWI charge alleges that at about 9:17 p.m. Jan. 11, McNally operated his 2003 red Chevrolet Silverado pickup while intoxicated. The misdemeanor counts of second-degree reckless endangerment and reckless driving allege he drove onto oncoming lanes of traffic at an imprudent speed, almost hitting other vehicles head-on and crashing into a parked vehicle. The indictment alleges in the fourth count of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting it, a violation, that property damage accident occurred on New Scotland Avenue. The police report said it was on New Scotland near Sycamore Street. It is alleged that McNally's truck caused damage to a 2007 Volkswagen and he left the scene without reporting it to police.

The owner of the Volkswagen, hearing a crash, ran outside and took down the plates of McNally's truck, the police report said. The final count, refusing to take a breath test, is a traffic infraction. After a state Department of Motor Vehicles hearing in January, an administrative law judge ruled that city police failed to properly inform McNally of his rights on a drunken-driving charge, which enabled him to avoid a yearlong loss of his license for refusing to take a breath test. The indictment doesn't mention witnesses, but the Times Union reported that an off-duty Schenectady police officer tailed the pickup truck, calling 911 and saying the motorist was driving erratically and careened into a snowbank on New Scotland. Christian Mesley, president of the Albany Police Officers Union, who went to McNally's home before internal affairs detectives arrived to arrest him, declined comment, leaving it to McNally's attorneys. McNally is to be arraigned Friday. Reach DeMare at 454-5431 or cdemare@timesunion.com.